POST MEDIEVAL COIN

1797

A Milled Post-Medieval counterfeit silvered copper alloy coin; a contemporary copy of a silver Spanish 'dollar' or eight reales of Charles IV of Spain, counterstruck with the bust of George III (1760-1820).Due to a shortage in coinage during the late 1790s, a number of coins from South America and Spain were counterstruck with the portrait of George III from 1797 until about 1820. According to Lasser et al. (1997, page 38) in The Coins of Colonial America, the oval counterstamp was used from 1797 until 1804. According to Walden, Timothy (2002), The Spanish Treasure Fleets, Pineapple Press Inc., p. 195, cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Boulton, these coins were extensively forged. This led to Boulton developing a process of obliterating the old coin design when re-issuing further counterstamped coins.This coin is copper alloy and has been silvered so it is a contemporary forgery. See Spink (2003), page 381, number 3766. It is copying a coin minted in Bolivia at the Potosi mint, indicated by the PTS monogram in the reverse legend.Reference: Lasser et al:http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_-JrC1XgWnIC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=counterstruck+George+III&source=bl&ots=rVF8sXM8_c&sig=yT8YwCUOXzeOJJl4bg4-IKT82v0&hl=en&ei=mbzPTtboAorqOcqZtaAP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=counterstruck%20George%20III&f=false . Accessed 25-Nov-2011.Obverse description: Right facing laureate bust, oval counterstamp of the bust of George IIIObverse inscription: CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA / 1796Reverse description: Crowned rectangular shield with a pillar on each side, ribbon reading PLUS VLTRAReverse inscription: HISPAN ET IND REX [PTS monogram] 8R P RCompare SWYOR-FB3863.